Birdly VR rig invites users to soar like an eagle, look like a lazy mole

Mankind has long dreamed of soaring through the clouds like the majestic albatross. That feat remains firmly in the realm of comic books and sci-fi novels, but thanks to students at the Zurich University of the Arts and the Oculus Rift VR headset, we can now fake it pretty well.

Dubbed "Birdly," the contraption seen in the above footage offers users a bird's-eye view of their virtual flight, while a fan provides faux headwind and scent emitters waft the surrounding smells directly into a the would-be bird's all too human nose. Motors in the apparatus shift a user in relation to what the Oculus Rift headset is depicting, and sensors translate arm movements into the flapping of an bird's wings.

Granted, it's not actual flight, and will probably cause a number of people to vomit from vertigo or simple sensory overload, but you take the good with the bad. A few puke stains are a small price to pay to glimpse the future of virtual reality.